Two dozen to gather to discuss goals, gaming addiction

Task force meeting

The first meeting of the Family, Youth and Health Task Force will be held today.

What: The meeting will feature a presentation on gaming addiction

When: 4 p.m. today

Where: Council chambers, Temecula Civic Center, 41000 Main St.

Around two dozen elected officials from throughout Southwest County will gather today for the first meeting of the regional Family, Youth and Health Task Force, a coalition that has been assembled to tackle hot-button issues affecting the area’s youths.

Those issues include bullying, “sexting,” drug and alcohol use, gangs, homelessness, video game addictions and more.

Temecula Mayor Mike Naggar initially proposed forming the task force after a drug sting at Temecula high schools led to 22 arrests.

Then the entire country was rocked by the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre in Connecticut, which authorities say was carried out by a 20-year-old with a history of mental health issues.

Naggar responded by making the formation of the task force one of the top priorities of his 2013 mayoral term and his colleagues on the council responded, approving the idea in January.

The meeting is set for 4 p.m. in the council chambers at the Civic Center, 41000 Main St. The officials, a group that includes members of city councils and school district boards, plan to hash out goals and concepts and meeting protocols, according to the agenda, and there will be a presentation on gaming addiction by Andrew Doan, a local eye doctor.

“I think the timing is good, I think it’s needed,” said Temecula Councilwoman Maryann Edwards, who will be one of the two dozen officials in attendance.

Talking specifically about Doan’s presentation, Edwards said she thinks it will be eye-opening for parents, people who work with youths and those who deal with gambling or gaming addiction.

Doan gave a brief synopsis of his presentation during a recent council meeting and Edwards said she learned a lot about how people’s lives can be destroyed by their submersion in virtual worlds.

“My kids haven’t really been gamers, but I know it’s out there. … I guess I didn’t realize the potential for addiction and the negative consequences of gaming, missing work and school,” she said.

Lake Elsinore Councilman Steve Manos said his children are more into the “softer” video games such as “The Legend of Zelda.” But he added that he’s seen and played some of the more violent games and he can see how they might desensitize a young mind.

Yet Manos said the debate about violence in media and its effects on youths long precedes video games, and he’s interested to see what his colleagues believe is a proper response.

“There are definitely arguments and studies that need to be heard and considered,” he said. “It’s an incredibly complex situation.”

Tom Thomas, president of the Lake Elsinore Unified School District’s governing board, said Friday that he’s looking forward to the meetings because he wants to share what’s working in Lake Elsinore and bring back good ideas from the other officials.

“We share all these common issues, I think we can learn a lot from each other,” he said.

Thomas’ district has been working recently to make sure young people who might not go to college have options after high school that aren’t joining a gang, hanging out on the streets or living in a park. That effort has taken the form of classes in the culinary arts, engineering and technology and programs that help young students identify technical schools.

But Thomas said he suspects there is more that can be done for this population and he’s looking forward to learning more about what the other districts are doing or planning to do.

“I know many of our students are not going to college and I think we can work a lot more as school districts to prepare them for the workforce, introduce them to careers to where they can go to a technical institute and get the training they need,” he said.